Standard Bearer

New Dean Patrick Lloyd wants the School of Dentistry to be a world leader.

By Joel Hoekstra

“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” The architect Daniel Burnham stated the ambition; Patrick Lloyd, new School of Dentistry dean, embodies it.

Within months of arrival in Minnesota this spring, he floated his idea for a new mission statement. His proposal impressed most and for some, admittedly, it took their breath away. “Here it is,” Lloyd says. “‘The U of M School of Dentistry will set the standard for the world.’ Why not? Why should we aspire to anything less? We can be the standard.”

Lloyd’s vision certainly stirred the search committee that decided to recommend him this spring. His installment as the dental school’s 12th dean follows a long career in the dental profession, most recently as the chair of the department of dentistry at the University of Iowa.

Lloyd was educated at Marquette University in Wisconsin and did his specialty residency in prosthetic dentistry at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. But his move into administration hasn’t meant giving up clinical work and hands-on dentistry, he says: He remains avidly interested in work with geriatric patients.

“What I heard from people at Minnesota was that they wanted someone who had an appreciation for the full scope of the profession,” Lloyd says. “They wanted someone who understood the clinical side of the profession—a ‘wet glove’ dentist—and someone who appreciated the role of research in a dental school and knew what it took to be a good teacher.”

In Iowa, Lloyd says, he was particularly proud of his success at cultivating a “cooperative spirit” among faculty and students. He developed arrangements whereby faculty in his department occasionally rotated into other areas of the college, and he invited speakers from other schools to come and lecture whenever possible. Such cross-fertilization bred additional expertise and interest. “Faculty could also remain connected with students as they moved through the various years of the program,” Lloyd says.

Minnesota was attractive, in large part, because of its “skilled, highly educated, loyal, and committed” faculty and staff, Lloyd says. He was also impressed with the enthusiasm of alumni and their interest in financially supporting the School of Dentistry. “Minnesota has something that’s intangible,” he says. “It has to do with the approach people take to their work…. They give all—regardless of the task—and are committed to the greater good.”

Still, Lloyd intends to raise the bar at Minnesota. Among other things, he hopes to integrate into the curriculum more awareness of historically underserved communities. Elderly people, immigrant populations, disabled individuals—these are some of the groups who face hurdles in getting access to proper dental care and yet who often need it most. “If a school advocates for people in need, then students see that they too have a role to play in caring for these patients after they graduate,” Lloyd says.

He also hopes to initiate an overhaul of the school’s facilities, developing a state-of-the-art clinical-teaching facility. “Sophisticated technology will allow us to attract and retain the best of the best,” he says, referring to both faculty and students. The benefits of introducing cutting-edge technologies into the classroom setting are multifold, he explains. Today’s students can learn on artificial teeth using laser-tracked drills that measure the depth and angle of tooth preparation and immediately receive computerized visual and statistical assessments of their performances compared to an ideally prepared tooth.

Microscopic cameras now allow faculty to demonstrate procedures to large groups of students, rather than just a handful at a time gathered around the patient. “This field is changing in amazing ways,” Lloyd says.

But when it comes to administration, Lloyd doesn’t advocate newfangled theories. He believes his most important task is to listen carefully to colleagues and students. “I’ll give anybody 30 minutes,” he says. And even if he doesn’t ultimately agree with a person’s point of view, he’s willing to hear them out and perhaps strike a compromise. “If you hold your ground,” he says, “there’s a chance that no one will benefit.”